Republican Liberty Caucus

Why should one be excluded from the Republican Party for believing and always voting for:

• Limited government power
• A balanced budget
• Personal liberty
• Strict adherence to the Constitution
• Sound money
• A strong defense while avoiding all undeclared wars
• No nation-building and no policing the world

How can a party that still pretends to be the party of limited government distance itself outright from these views and expect to maintain credibility? Since the credibility of the Republican Party has now been lost, how can it regain credibility without embracing these views, or at least showing respect for them?

READ MORE from Dr. Ron Paul: GOP should ask why U.S. is on the wrong track

A new website has been launched by a coalition of bloggers to Rebuild the Republican Party. Located at http://rebuildtheparty.com/, the coalition hopes to encourage the party to reinvigorate the party by harnessing the power of the Internet, recruit a new generation of candidates, and change the structure of the RNC. Learn more at Rebuildtheparty.com.  On the top right side of the page, you can submit your ideas to rebuild the party.

According to Tyler Whitney, there are reports that SC Governor Mark Sanford may become chairman of the Republican Governors Association. The RGA is meeting this week in Miami to elect its new chairman. Governor Sanford has also been mentioned as a potential candidate for President in 2012.

I couldn’t think of a better choice.

On Saturday, the Wall Street Journal made an unusual recommendation for the replacement of minority leader Rep. John Boehner (R-OH)with Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) to lead the GOP in the U.S. House, citing the need for new leadership, youth and principle. While Boehner is the favorite to retain the position, the Wall Street Journal’s endorsement is likely to resonate with many RLCers.

Rep. Ryan has a lifetime ‘libertarian’ rating in the Liberty Index. While not earning 100%, he nonetheless displays a more-than-passing familiarity with libertarian ideas.

["He says things like] ‘I grew up on Hayek and [Ludwig von] Mises’ at the place in a conversation where most people would say something like, ‘I grew up on a farm,’” notes The Weekly Standard,” a publication not noted for respect for either free market economist. And elsewhere, Ryan says: “I give out ‘Atlas Shrugged’ [by Ayn Rand] as Christmas presents, and I make all my interns read it. Well . . . I try to make my interns read it.”

His timely Austrian background is evident in his Nov. 11 editorial in the Wall Street Journal, where he lists “loose money” from the Fed first in his list of financial crisis culprits. In passing up an easy opportunity to pin the blame on House Democrats and rather state a larger truth, Ryan clearly is seeing through the partisan smoke that surrounds him. That’s leadership.

His Facebook page (yes, Facebook) shows that he has a lot in common with a generation that the GOP lost in its bellicose neocon years of budget-busting and bailouts.

There are negatives to Rep. Ryan also, of course, and these must be evaluated in making sure Rep. Ryan will be 1) a net plus for our ideas and 2) the best among the alternatives. Please feel free to list them under comments, below, for everyone’s consideration.

While Obama cannot be expected to be better than Bush, particularly when armed with a Democratic majority in the Congress, his ascendance will necessarily send the minority GOP into a frenzy of finger-pointing and soul-searching. This is healthy and overdue. It should have occurred in 2006. After tonight, the president, legislators and party chiefs who led us into this debacle will no longer receive the uncritical loyalty of the party’s base. New leaders will necessarily emerge, and if history is any indication these leaders will better represent more traditional themes of the Republican Party: lower taxes, less government and a prudent foreign policy.

At some point, the GOP upstarts will be the leaders of a new GOP majority in the Congress. In the 1990s, this process took only two years after the election of Bill Clinton.

Refocused by loss, we may find that today’s election was the first victory for an improved Republican Party of the future. Let’s make it so.

I track political races all across the country — with an emphasis on the races that libertarian Republicans can win or have a significant impact on. The following is a list of races that you should pay attention to.

ARIZONA: Sydney Hay is a traditional limited government conservative with a long track record of leadership in Arizona. Now, Sydney wants to replace Republican Rick Renzi in Congress. Sydney has an uphill battle because of Renzi’s corruption charges and because the DNCC is targetting this seat for her opponent, State Representative Ann Kirkpatrick. The race will be a nail-biter come Nov. 4.

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The RLC-USA PAC has donated $1,000 to Sydney Hay’s campaign.
Above, Sydney poses with RLC Advisor Barry Goldwater, Jr.

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CALIFORNIA: Tom McClintock has, for over 20 years, been the conscience of the ultra moderate Republican Party of California. Tom is running for Congress in Placer and Modoc Counties, which traditionally trend conservative, but is having trouble because of George W. Bush and other neo-conservatives who have literally ruined the Republican brand. The race is rated “toss-up,” but libertarian Republicans across the country should be rooting for Tom McClintock.

INDIANA: Ron Paul campaign activist, businessman, and RLC member Bill Johnson is the Republican candidate for State Represenative in District 19, running against a one-term Democrat incumbent in a swing district. This is a race to watch!

MAINE: Former State Representative and RLC State Chair Ken Lindell is running for State Representative in the district he formerly represented.

MICHIGAN: Justin Amash is running for State Representative in a conservative district in suburban Grand Rapids. Justin is a longtime RLC member and supporter, and is considered a “rising star” in Michigan GOP politics. Look for Justin to win in November.

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RLC endorsed Nevada State Senate candidate Lindsay Madsen.

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NEVADA: Lindsay Nicole Madsen, a young rising star in the state GOP, is running for State Senate in Clark County (Las Vegas). How much damage can an outspoken, attractive and principled limited government candidate have in a traditionally Democrat district?

NORTH CAROLINA: There are three races to watch for libertarian Republicans interested in the Tar Heel State. B.J. Lawson, a favorite of libertarian Republicans, has waged an amazing uphill battle for Congress against David Price in District 4. Similarly, Asheville City Council member Carl Mumpower is targetting Heath Shuler in District 11; Shuler was elected by a small margin in 2006 in this swing district. Finally, State Auditor Les Merritt (Incumbent), who the state RLC has been in close contact with, is fighting off a challenge from accountant Beth Wood.

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RLC endorsed incumbent, North Carolina State Auditor Les Merritt.

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PENNSYLVANIA: Long-time State Representative Sam Rohrer (Incumbent) is in a tough re-election battle, and needs your support. Rohrer has been firm about preserving individual rights, and fought hard against the federal government on REAL ID.

TEXAS: State RLC Executive Director and all-around great guy Don Zimmerman is running for Travis County Tax Assessor-Collector.

WASHINGTON: Former State Representative and RLC State Contact Toby Nixon is running for State Representative in the district he formerly represented.

These are the races to watch as the election nears. Please help the above candidates succeed!

Walter Stanley, RLC member in California, is leading a group of limited government Republicans won 12 seats on the Alameda County Republican Central Committee during the June 3 Statewide Direct Primary Election. There are 30 total seats on the Committee. According to Stanley, “In January, we’ll have a chance to add a few more, further increasing our numbers.” He noted that the Bay Area conservative base casted almost 70,000 total individual votes for the Constitutional Republicans slate. “Our campaign efforts paid off well for us in the end,” noted Stanley.

In Sonoma County, the RLC elected four new members to the Sonoma County Republican Party Central Committee on June 3. “The foursome worked on the Ron Paul campaign and now will work hard to return the Republican Party to its roots,” said RLC California Communications Director Matthew Heath. In January, the group will work hard to fill any open seats with like-minded individuals.

According to RLC California Treasurer Laura Crockett, “[Success comes when you] … show up, work hard, follow through and keep passing out your contact information.”

After initially rejecting the bailout package proposed in the U.S. House of Representatives, days later 58 Congressmen changed their vote to approve of the second version. Thirty-three Democrats changed their vote to “aye,” along with 25 Republicans, giving the bill — H.R. 1424 — enough support to pass the House to be signed by President Bush. The bill passed easily in the Senate before coming to the House, with the support of both Senators Barack Obama and John McCain. Below are the names, divided by party, of those who sold-out the taxpayer for the interests of Wall Street:

Alexander, Rodney [R]
Barrett, James [R]
Biggert, Judy [R]
Boustany, Charles [R]
Buchanan, Vern [R]
Coble, Howard [R]
Conaway, K. [R]
Dent, Charles [R]
Fallin, Mary [R]
Frelinghuysen, Rodney [R]
Gerlach, Jim [R]
Hoekstra, Peter [R]
Knollenberg, Joseph [R]
Kuhl, John [R]
Myrick, Sue [R]
Ramstad, James [R]
Ros-Lehtinen, Ileana [R]
Schmidt, Jean [R]
Shadegg, John [R]
Shuster, William [R]
Sullivan, John [R]
Terry, Lee [R]
Thornberry, William [R]
Tiberi, Patrick [R]
Wamp, Zach [R]

Zach Wamp, Pete Hoekstra, Mary Fallin, Sue Myrick, and John Shadegg all claim to be fiscal conservatives. How a fiscal conservative could vote for the pork-filled bailout proposal is beyond my comprehension. Only one RLC-endorsed candidate — Mr. Shadegg — switched his vote. I am extremely disappointed with Mr. Shadegg.

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Abercrombie, Neil [D]
Baca, Joe [D]
Berkley, Shelley [D]
Braley, Bruce [D]
Carson, André [D]
Cleaver, Emanuel [D]
Cuellar, Henry [D]
Cummings, Elijah [D]
Edwards, Donna [D]
Giffords, Gabrielle [D]
Green, Al [D]
Hirono, Mazie [D]
Jackson, Jesse [D]
Jackson-Lee, Sheila [D]
Kilpatrick, Carolyn [D]
Lee, Barbara [D]
Lewis, John [D]
Mitchell, Harry [D]
Ortiz, Solomon [D]
Pascrell, William [D]
Pastor, Edward [D]
Rush, Bobby [D]
Schiff, Adam [D]
Scott, David [D]
Solis, Hilda [D]
Sutton, Betty [D]
Thompson, C. [D]
Tierney, John [D]
Watson, Diane [D]
Welch, Peter [D]
Woolsey, Lynn [D]
Wu, David [D]
Yarmuth, John [D]

According to Politicker Arizona, “Ahead of today’s House vote on the $700 billion bailout package, U.S. Rep. John Shadegg is calling for the resignation of Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson.” According to Shadegg:

“Congressional leadership received less than four hours notice before the Secretary publicly warned of an imminent collapse of the market and announced his bailout plan. Clearly, it was his duty to provide Congress and its leaders time to evaluate this situation, and he failed. The Secretary went public with dire warnings, scaring the nation minutes after apprising Congressional leaders of this problem. That is simply unacceptable.”

“The problems in the market today did not occur over night. In the last six months, Secretary Paulson has insisted that the federal government rescue Bear Stearns, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and AIG. Each time, Secretary Paulson assured Congress that it would solve the problem. Obviously, Secretary Paulson has been wrong. The American people can no longer have confidence in him and he should submit his resignation, effective immediately,” Shadegg concluded.

[Editor's note: After this blog post was published, Shadegg switched his vote from opposition to the bailout to support of it.]

On September 2, 2008 in Minneapolis, Ron Paul’s “Rally for the Republic” kicked off with speeches from U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, former U.S. Rep. Barry Goldwater, Jr., former Governor Gary Johnson of New Mexico, Tucker Carlson, Grover Norquist, and Olympic swimmer Erik Vendt.

Several RLC members were in attendance. Photos from the event follow.

Vincent Campos, left, a Ron Paul RNC delegate from Mineral Wells, Texas, and his friend hit the streets to check out the action.

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Supporters joyously promote Dr. Paul outside of the Target Center.

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Ron Paul book signing and rally at Rosedale Mall.

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Champion Olympic swimmer (and future RLC endorsed candidate?) Erik Vendt passionately makes the case for liberty.

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Emcee Tucker Carlson makes a point. Carlson objected when the John Birch Society’s President made the case for closed U.S. borders at the Rally for the Republic.

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Grover Norquist made the case for drowning government.

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RLC Advisor Governor Gary Johnson speaks to the crowd.
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Ron Paul addresses the crowd of 10,000+.
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RLC Mississippi Coordinator Jeff Powell (left).

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A family celebrates liberty.

Ron Paul speaks to the crowd.

RLC-endorsed candidate for Congress in North Carolina, Dr. William Lawson (right).

RLC-endorsed candidate for Congress in Maryland, Richard Pryce Matthews (left).